Gossamer Garbage
 

I have 180 miles on my new setup with a BB30 Gossamer crankset, and could not be more unhappy with the cranks. After 135 miles, I developed an extremely loud knock that could be felt vibrating through the crank arms - did some research and realized that my crankset was one with a recall due to over tightening the non drive crank arm.

Spent all last week without my bike while taking care of the warranty. Today was the first ride back with the new crank arm, and what happens after about 30 miles? Clunk, clunk, clunk. Not as bad as the first one, and it only lasted about 2 miles before shutting up for 25 more, but are you f___ing kidding me?!? I knew I'd be replacing the crankset sooner or later due to its abysmal reputation, but I wouldn't have thought such problems to surface this quickly. HOW CAN FSA MARKET SUCH KNOWN GARBAGE AND CHARGE WHAT THEY DO?

Has anyone else shared the same experience after getting your BB30 Gossamer warrantied? If so, how did your LBS handle it, and did FSA replace it yet again? Even if they'll offer another free replacement, I will absolutely not put another piece of FSA trash on any bike.

No experience with the Gossamer crank, but I had an older FSA SL-K carbon crankset on my bike... which quickly loosened and fell off. The interface between the through axle and the left crankarm became so worn that no amount of tightening on the fixing bolt could keep them together.

Not really happy with that. Out of warranty, so no recourse there. Ended up getting lucky and buying some cheaper ultegra cranks.

have done 20000 on my SRM gossamer no problems with the crank but have had to replace the bb

Is this your first time with a BB30 crankset? This sounds more like a BB30 creak than a Gossamer-taking-a-****.

The recall was related to the possible failure of the some retaining hardware on the NDS side - if it cracked (from being overtightened), the whole arm could loosen and, eventually, come off. Don't confuse that with the crick-crick-crick - this can sometimes happen as it gets a little more grimy in the BB area and is not unique to FSA/Gossamer. Cleaning and re-greasing usually makes it go away.

I've had a Gossamer triple for 4 years and have had no problems with it all.

WhyFi is right, this sure sounds like a BB30 creak/clunk. Make sure everything is cleaned, greased all VERY well, the correct number of spacers in there and tight. I've owned BB30 cannondales for years. Been through this a few times. Good Luck.

+1 on BB issue.

The bearings are not installed properly. You need to have the crankset removed and the bearings reinstalled using some Locktite - I believe it is the green kind.

The bearings have come loose and that is what is causing the knocking. It has nothing to do with the crankset and you would get the same noise if you put a Sram Red or Cannondale Hollogram in there with those bearings.

Thanks for the input everyone. I'm very familiar with bottom bracket creaking (Shimano, Zipp) and have been able to solve that with cleaning/greasing/teflon tape. I's my understanding that with BB30 there's nothing threaded in there - is that correct? Also this is a much deeper sounding "knock" than the external BB "creak" that's so well documented with Shimano. I'll definitely give this a try though while I get a Force cranket / BB on order.

Excellent info - thanks!

One of the meanings for gossamer in dictionary.com is "something extremely light, flimsy, or delicate." This is not a word I would want associated with bicycle cranks or toilet paper. Just sayin'.

Only have 35,000 miles on my Gossamer triple right now, so I can't say it won't be a problem later. Replaced BB at 32,000 miles while I had it apart to replace chain rings. Had a clicking sound at 14,000 miles that went away after I retightened the left crank pinch bolts.

Not a whole lot to a crank. I'd look at all the things that touch it: chain rings, pedals, BB, and that left crank arm. Ensure everything is tightened to spec. Don't rely on the shop to get everything right. You'll take more time than his flat rate allows him to.

i have the same crank and had the same problem. mine went away luckly though but there are a few things you can do to fix it. the info topflightpro and others gave is what you need to do. good luck and let us know how it turns out.

FSA gossamer cranks are reliable enough to come as stock equipment on a high-end Cervelo P2C bike. Don't know what everyone' whining about, as Cervelo is one of the strictest in terms of QC - they fired Wolf within a week after discovering that their Wolf forks 'may' cause a failure.

The gossamer crank is about as light, flimsy, and delicate as a sledge hammer.

I had a minor creak in mine when I first purchased my Cannondale. The creak stopped when I started taking it to another bike mechanic that was not an idiot.